"We all have a story to tell." This blog is a collection of stories about my family and the research I've done on its history, as well as other thoughts on historical issues and events.

Thursday, April 5, 2012

Shiloh - the Beginning

On the morning of April 6, 1862, one of the earliest and deadliest battles of the Civil War began.The two-day conflict between Confederate and Union forces at Pittsburg Landing, Tennessee, located on the banks of the Tennessee River, would result in over 3,400 killed on both sides, with thousands more wounded and missing. It would ironically be forever afterwards called the Battle of Shiloh. This name was taken from a small church named Shiloh, around which General Ulysses S. Grant settled most of his troops.The name Shiloh is often translated to “peace” or “tranquility” in Hebrew.Along with the thousands of soldiers who died in that battle, two high-ranking and outstanding generals lost their lives as well: General Albert Sydney Johnston, USC, and Brigadier General W. H. L. Wallace, U.S. Army.It most certainly was not a place of peace.

Also lost in that battle was my 2nd great grand uncle, Major Samuel T. Love, who was “mortally wounded” and taken prisoner, only to die on April 17th of his wounds in the Union prison camp at Paducah, Kentucky.Major Love served in the 27th Tennessee Infantry, Company K, also known as the “Henderson County Sharpshooters.”

Samuel Love, born in 1821 in Fairfax County, Virginia, was the brother of my great-great grandfather, Charles Jones Love, Jr.Samuel was a veteran soldier who had served as a 2nd Lieutenant in the 14th Infantry in the U.S. Army during the Mexican War.Even though he was already 40 years old when Tennessee seceded from the Union, he followed his 17-year-old nephew, Richard Love, and signed up for duty at Trenton, Tennessee, with the newly formed 27th Infantry. Richard had enlisted in July of 1861 and Samuel in August of the same year. Richard was the son of Samuel’s brother Charles and was my great grand uncle.

Samuel entered his service as a private, but his age and experience earned him a rapid promotion from private to major in September.Richard enlisted as a corporal, since he was one of the first to sign up for service, and he would soon be promoted to sergeant.

As I researched Samuel’s Civil War record, I found several glowing accounts of his military service. In the Civil War Archives found at http://www.civilwararchive.com/RESEARCH1/1862/shilohcsa6.htm, I read that Major General B. F. Cheatham, commanding officer of the 2nd Division, First Corps, Army of the Mississippi (Confederate) at Shiloh, had written a report of the battle on April 30, 1862.His account of the battle included the following:

“During the engagement here I was re-enforced by Colonel Gibbon, with a Louisiana brigade; by Colonel Campbell, with his gallant Thirty third Tennessee, and by Maj. Samuel T. Love, with the Twenty-seventh Tennessee, all of whom deserve particular mention. Major Love gallantly led his regiment to the charge and fell mortally wounded. Thus re-enforced, I was enabled to prevent the advance of the enemy, who seemed to have thrown his whole disposable force against our left flank."

4 comments:

May those who "gave it all" rest in peace. Thanks for the information on Samuel Love. A hasty google of our Westmorelands produced one entry for a Civil War soldier. No doubt there were many more from NC and TN.

Here he is:Silas WestmorelandEnlisted in the Civil War on May 30, 1861, at age 27Company G, Unit 21, NC InfantryCaptainDoctor and FarmerBuried 1883, Westmoreland Cemetery, Stokes County, NC

I'm sure you would find lots of them out there. Have you tried familysearch.org? They have great records on there (for free), as does rootsweb.com. Fold3 is a wonderful military records site - but that's a pay site. (Not too expensive, though.)

My name is Justin Love and I'm from Knoxville TN my family dates back rather far (exact date unkown) in the mountainous regions of Virginia North Carolina and Tennessee we were wondering what resources may be available to see if there is a relation and if not if perhaps we could find some soldiers who fought for the CSA

Hello Justin.Most of my LOVE family members came from MD, then went to VA & finally TN. HOWEVER, when my brother submitted his DNA for the LOVE family surname a number of years ago, we matched with only one other LOVE family - a group who had evidently come from NC. Where they were before that has not been discovered. Their line begins with a Samuel Love, b. sometime around 1790 in NC and an Elizabeth Stone, b. same place around the same time. Their son Granville Love was the ancestor of the people with whom we matched.

In my research over the years, I'd found that the LOVE and STONE families were good friends in the late 1600s & early 1700s in MD. So these two people could possibly be the desendents of those early families. We do know that we are related - just don't know how! :)

My whole family tree is on Ancestry.com. If you are a member, you can find it: the Love/Maitland family tree. If you're not a member, let me know.

Michael Marshall has done a ton of good work on the early families of MD and has included the LOVE family. This work can be found on Rootsweb, which is a free site.

I hope these suggestions help. You are welcome to email me: carlaleelove@gmail.com

About Me

I'm a retired educator with a degree in history and French and several years of experience in genealogical and historical research. The purpose of my 'Sassygenealogist' blog is to honor my relatives and ancestors, as I celebrate their lives by telling others what I know or what I've learned about them, and whenever possible, how I came to learn those facts. In my "Sassy Just Writes" blog, I intend to share my thoughts and ideas on many things: people, family, experiences, and life in general - all with just a little bit of "Sassy Southern Class." Now, isn't that a unique concept?